Stanford's victory was largely an inside job

David Bush, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, January 14, 2006

Photo: Liz Hafalia

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Cal at Stanford in men's basketball at Maples Pavilion on the Stanford campus--Stanford's Mitch Johnson (right) blocks Nikola Knezivic (left) during the first quarter. Photographed by Liz Hafalia on 1/13/06 in Palo Alto, California. SFC less

Cal at Stanford in men's basketball at Maples Pavilion on the Stanford campus--Stanford's Mitch Johnson (right) blocks Nikola Knezivic (left) during the first quarter. Photographed by Liz Hafalia on 1/13/06 in ... more

Photo: Liz Hafalia

Stanford's victory was largely an inside job

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Stanford's front line might not be as imposing as Cal's, but Friday night at Maples Pavilion, it was every bit the equal.

Of course, having one of your guards not miss a shot from the field helps considerably, but Chris Hernandez's marksmanship was only part of the Cardinal's 75-61 victory.

Senior forward Matt Haryasz, showing visible effects of his sprained ankle, scored 24 points, equaling his season best, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Dan Grunfeld had 11 rebounds and Taj Finger kept Cal's Leon Powe from dominating under the basket, something the Cardinal was wary of. And the Cardinal reserves all had their moments in Stanford's third straight victory.

"I think the play of our inside guys, taking their big guys out of the game was key. And we out rebounded them," Hernandez said. "And that was against a pretty athletic team like Cal."

Haryasz in particular seemed to be into the spirit of the night, reacting to the sellout crowd of 7,598 with considerable emotion.

"It was a big game for us, a chance to get a Pac-10 win," Haryasz said. "Cal is a heckuva basketball team. I was fired up and let that come through in my actions."

Coach Trent Johnson, while calling it Haryasz's best game, did not buy into the idea that the player was unusually motivated. "Matt is always fired up, that's just the way he is," said Johnson, who added that he anticipated a spirited effort from his club. "We shot the ball real well and had a good week of practice," he said.

Haryasz did not need to be prompted to talk about Finger, the 6-foot-8 sophomore who was given the unenviable chore of guarding Powe.

"I thought Taj did a great job, stuck his nose in there, did really well, that was huge for us," Haryasz said.

Finger said doing his homework paid dividends. "We had scouted them real well," he said. "I watched a lot of film on Powe. I knew exactly what he liked to do. My focus wasn't to go in and score 20 points. It never is, with Matt and those guys. My emphasis is on rebounding, defense and to help the team win."

Finger certainly did not give in to Powe, generally regarded as one of the best players in the conference. "Obviously he's a big strong guy, but I thought if I played more physical than him I would be able to do a little bit better," he said.

Cal coach Ben Braun appreciated Finger's hustle. "He's active, he plays with enthusiasm," Braun said. "He kept the ball alive a lot of times and he is always moving."

Eight of Powe's points came in one spurt to open the second half, when nothing any Cardinal player did seemed to make the slightest difference. But except for that outburst, which added up to Powe 8, Stanford 7, he was just another player.

Haryasz was anything but. "Matt was hard to contain in the first half," Braun said of Haryasz's 14 point effort in the first 20 minutes.

"We did a better job on him in the second half, but by that time it was too late. By then all their other guys were going."

The Cardinal (7-6, 3-2 Pac 10) are over .500 for the first time since they were 3-2 after beating Cal Poly on Nov. 28.

"We're coming, we're getting there. As long as we continue to stick our nose in there -- I know that's not a Stanford term," said Johnson, who obviously had not heard Haryasz use the phrase moments earlier. "But as long as we do, and work defensively we've got a chance."

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